Las Vegas Approves $6 Million Payment To WWE For WrestleMania 42

According to a report from LV Sports Biz, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is preparing to approve a $6 million payment to WWE in support of WrestleMania 42, which is set to take place next April. The approval is expected to be made official during the board’s upcoming meeting on Wednesday, November 12.

The report notes that LVCVA CEO Steve Hill is an enthusiastic supporter of WrestleMania and has often spoken about the significant economic and cultural impact the event brings to the city.

WWE will once again stage WrestleMania at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, marking the first time since 1989 that the event has been held in the same city two years in a row. As part of WrestleMania weekend, WWE is also set to host several major events including SmackDown, NXT Stand & Deliver, and the Hall of Fame ceremony.

Originally, WrestleMania 42 was scheduled to take place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on April 11 and 12, 2026. However, plans shifted, and the show will now take place at Allegiant Stadium on April 18 and 19, 2026. To compensate, New Orleans has been confirmed as the host city for the 2026 Money in the Bank Premium Live Event, scheduled for September 6.

TKO President Mark Shapiro: A Lot Of Our WWE PLEs Were Created By Vince McMahon, We Need To Get In The Business Of Taking That Torch & Moving Past That

TKO head is enjoying the progression.

The latest episode of The Main Event with Andrew Marchand featured a sit-down chat with TKO President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shapiro.

While the conversational focus was on WWE, Shapiro spoke about how the company’s Chief Content Officer, Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, and President Nick Khan are moving things forward.

He added that a lot of WWE Premium Live Event titles were created by former Chairman Vince McMahon. Shapiro said they needed to take the torch and move past that, so Levesque and Khan introduced the Wrestlepalooza PLE. Shapiro said securing the I.P. to Wrestlepalooza to sell event merchandise was a success.

“And yet, they’re open to new ideas. They never seem exhausted. They’re ready to take on a new shot, a new risk, a new opportunity. ‘Hey, Nick, let’s talk about launching a new event.’ Right now, a lot of our PLEs were created by Vince McMahon. We need to get in the business of taking that torch and moving past that, and Nick (Khan) and Triple H created Wrestlepalooza, which is the launch event for our new ESPN deal, which did incredibly well and may turn into a superfranchise. Not to mention from a merch standpoint, I don’t need to tell you, securing the I.P. rights and then selling merch at Wrestlepalooza, let’s just say it was a real winner…”

The first-ever Wrestlepalooza event was produced under the ECW banner in 1995.

The next Premium Live Event on the docket for WWE is Survivor Series: WarGames on November 29th from Petco Park in San Diego, California.

credit The Main Event with Andrew Marchand with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription

TKO Raises 2025 Guidance Following Big Bucks UFC and WWE Licensing Pacts

TKO has raised its full-year guidance on the momentum generated by its big-bucks new deals with Paramount and ESPN for rights to UFC and WWE events.

The parent company of the MMA league and wrestling franchise had a mixed third quarter with revenue down on tough year-over-year comps from last year’s Summer Olympic Games in Paris. UFC also held one less pay-per-view event and no presence at Las Vegas’ Sphere, compared to the year-ago frame. At the same time, costs were down significantly so that improved the adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and net income were both up, powered by gains for WWE and IMG.

“TKO delivered solid third quarter financial results, and with UFC and WWE’s sustained momentum, we are once again raising our full-year guidance,” said Ariel Emanuel, TKO’s executive chair and CEO. “Having secured landmark multiyear media rights deals for UFC, WWE and Zuffa Boxing, our conviction in TKO has never been stronger. We remain focused on operational execution, including preparing for UFC’s launch with Paramount, further integrating and unlocking synergies with IMG, On Location, and PBR, and maximizing shareholder value.”

Total revenue was down 27% to $1.120 billion. Net income hit $106.8 million, a big swing from $3.4 million in Q3 2024. Free cash flow was a healthy $398.9 million, an increase of $247.9 million from $151.0 million, due to the increase in cash flows generated by operating activities and a decrease in capital expenditures.

For the third consecutive quarter, TKO increased its full-year target for revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Revenue is now projected at $4.69 billion to $4.72 billion and adjusted EBITDA was lifted to $1.57 billion to $1.58 billion. For the year to date ended Sept. 30, TKO total revenue stood at $3.69 billion and adjusted EBITDA came in at $1.3 billion.

Emanuel and Mark Shapiro, TKO president and chief operating officer, were pressed by analysts during the company’s conference call for details on how the $7.7 billion, seven-year UFC rights deal came together with Paramount+ and CBS. Shapiro emphasized that UFC still has runway to strike lucrative rights deals outside the U.S.

“Overall [Paramount] ended up having the best equation, which is best for our brand, best marketing plan, a holistic effort, given what they’re doing on the domestic side with that investment,” Shapiro said. And, of course, the best rights fee. So for us, it’s always going to be brand, reach, dollars.”

Despite the momentum behind UFC and WWE, Shapiro kept the chest-beating to a minimum.

“We knew we were going to have a nice bidding war because it was attractive and it has strong fan bases and and we capitalized on it,” Shapiro said. “Nobody here has taken a victory lap, not on those specific territories in that deal, or really even on the quarterly earnings here. We’re proud of where we are. We’re proud of the road ahead. We’re cautiously optimistic.”

source: variety.com

Nick Khan Addresses Soaring WWE Ticket Prices And Overall Live Event Strategy

WWE ticket prices won't be going down anytime soon.

For more than a year, the WWE has priced tickets aggressively for major events like WrestleMania 41 in Las Vegas, SummerSlam, and other PLE's in order to generate the most revenue possible — and break old revenue records for the company. Increased prices for television events like WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown followed suit.

According to the WWE President, Nick Khan, those tickets are priced appropriately, and the pricing aligns with their overall live event strategy.

Khan addressed ticket prices and the general live event strategy for the company on the Q3 earnings call on Wednesday and was adamant that both the pricing strategy and event strategy as a whole were sound.

“A couple of years ago when TKO was put up, one of the first things we collectively did was reduce the non-televised live events, which created more scarcity in the marketplace for our televised events, and our continued international expansion only furthered that," Khan said of the event strategy in WWE.

"It creates more scarcity in the United States which is a good thing in-terms of our overall gauge.”

With a slower slate of events overall, Khan confirmed that the ticket prices to see WWE were fair given what the market is bearing.

“Capacity continues to be very high. We’ve increased prices appropriately with the marketplace. That’s for the PLEs, RAW, SmackDown, SNME, and every other ticketed program that WWE has. We remain bullish on it.”-Nick Khan

In 2025, WWE expanded it's international event slate and held multiple television events overseas. The company put on specialty PLE's in Paris, Australia, and Saudi Arabia as well.

2026 will be a year that continues that expansion for the company. WWE is already slated to host the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia in 2026. Plus, the company announced this year that it would be running WrestleMania outside North America for the first time in history. WWE is bringing their biggest event to Saudi Arabia in 2027 with WrestleMania 43.

WWE will return to the scene of last year's record-breaking WrestleMania in 2026. WrestleMania 42 will emanate from inside Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas for the second year in a row. The company had originally announced New Orleans as the site of the event, but pivoted after a record year in 2025.

source: si.com

WWE Reportedly Exploring Creative Changes After Recent Criticism

WWE and parent company TKO are experiencing another banner year when it comes to ticket sales, merchandising, and in particular, landing multi-billion dollar media rights agreements.

It is more than fair to say, however, that the honeymoon period with Paul 'Triple H' Levesque as WWE's Chief Content Officer has come to an end.

Fans have been more critical of the company's booking practices in 2025 than they ever were during Levesque's previous years in control. The headlining gripe, of course, has been the handling of John Cena's retirement tour.

His shocking heel turn at Elimination Chamber was a very promising start, but despite a few glimmering moments — such as his pipebomb promo on CM Punk — many feel WWE has completely dropped the ball with Cena's final run.

That's not entirely on Levesque, as The Rock's abrupt departure from the story left Cena to carry the weight of the entire arc without the lead protagonist that finally talked him into abandoning his principles.

It wasn't working. WWE knew it. Cena knew it and the entire angle was dropped ahead of SummerSlam. However, just as Cena was catching fire with spectacular matches against Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn, the WWE creative team made the conscious decision to have Brock Lesnar squash him at WrestlePalooza.

He'll now face AJ Styles at Crown Jewel this Saturday, with absolutely zero build up on WWE programming. Outside of a few video packages highlighting their rivalry from 2016 and 2017, and Styles quite literally saying on Raw that they don't need a story for this match.

A lack of compelling storytelling overall, especially when it comes to many of WWE's female superstars, has been another cause of aggravation for fans this year.

Even some of the company's top champions have fallen victim to lackluster creative unbefitting of the talent involved. Tiffany Stratton's rivalry with Jade Cargill and the U.S. Title reigns of Zelina Vega and Giulia serving as prime examples.

Distraction finishes and post-match attacks have become heavily leaned on crutches. Almost as though WWE is overly concerned with protecting everyone, that as a result, no one ever truly goes over.

Pacing has been another major issue. Whether that's finding time to consistently feature the WWE World Tag Team Championships during a two and half hour Monday Night Raw, or on a grander scale, effectively moving from PLE to PLE with often just weeks in between shows.

No one is suggesting that the job of Levesque and his creative team is easy, and the product today is still miles ahead of where it was during the latter years of the Vince McMahon era, but WWE reportedly knows improvements need to be made.

The folks over at BodySlam say the company has taken notice of the audience's criticisms this year and meetings have been held recently to discuss how to best adjust the creative process.

"Sources indicate to Bodyslam that WWE is undergoing creative changes to their team to overall improve the product. Road Dogg will continue to be head of creative for SmackDown, but there will be additions to the team to make the show more enjoyable moving forward."

The general consensus is that Raw has consistently been the better of the two brands for some time now. Creative adjustments on the SmackDown side of things should be welcomed news to those who tune in every Friday night.

source: si.com

ESPN inks five-year deal for WWE’s live premium events including WrestleMania

ESPN, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), and WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), today announced a landmark rights agreement as ESPN platforms, including the new ESPN direct-to-consumer streaming service, will become the exclusive U.S. domestic home of all WWE Premium Live Events (PLEs), including the two-night cultural phenomenon WrestleMania, starting in 2026. This deal makes ESPN home to the highest-profile WWE events of the year.

The ESPN DTC service will stream all WWE PLEs annually, in their entirety, with select simulcasting on ESPN linear platforms. Marquee PLEs include WrestleMania and SummerSlam – both two-night events – and Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, Money in the Bank, among others. WWE will continue to produce all PLEs.

Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN: “WWE has an immense, devoted and passionate fanbase that we’re excited to super-serve on our new ESPN DTC platform. This agreement, which features the most-significant WWE events of the year, bolsters our unprecedented content portfolio and helps drive our streaming future.”

Mark Shapiro, President and Chief Operating Officer, TKO: “We are proud to reinforce the ‘E’ in ESPN at such an exciting juncture in its direct-to-consumer journey. WWE Premium Live Events are renowned for exactly the type of rich storytelling, incredible feats of athleticism and can’t-miss, cultural tentpole experiences that have become synonymous with ESPN. Through our UFC relationship, we have experienced firsthand how transformational an ESPN presence can be, and we know this will be an exceptional partnership at a time of great innovation for both companies.”

Nick Khan, President, WWE: “WWE’s agreement with ESPN is a pivotal moment for our millions of fans across the United States: the leader in sports entertainment partnering with the biggest brand in sports media. Bringing WWE’s flagship events to ESPN’s platform is tremendously exciting. We know the sky is the limit.”

ESPN platforms, including its DTC service, will have the opportunity to stream WWE’s pre-and post-event shows tied to all Premium Live Events.

All of ESPN. All in One Place. Coming Soon.

For the first time ever, ESPN will offer its full suite of networks and services directly to fans, along with an enhanced ESPN App that integrates game stats, betting information, fantasy sports, commerce, multiview options and a personalized SportsCenter For You. Designed to give fans more choice, flexibility and access to all of ESPN, these new features and functionality will be available to all fans who watch on the ESPN App on mobile and connected TV devices, whether they subscribe directly or through a traditional pay TV package.

Maybelline New York named first-ever official cosmetic partner of WWE

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, and Maybelline New York, the number one cosmetic brand in the world, announced today a new partnership in which the beauty brand will become the first-ever Official Cosmetics Partner of WWE.

The new agreement commences with Maybelline serving as the Presenting Partner of Evolution – the all-women's Premium Live Event on Sunday, July 13 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

“WWE is excited to collaborate with Maybelline, a partner that not only leads the beauty industry but also shares our vision for highlighting amazing individuals across the roster," said Brit Santypal, Senior Vice President of Partnership Marketing, TKO.

"Maybelline New York is proud to partner with WWE and have the opportunity to put our products to the ultimate test,” said Amy Whang, President of Maybelline New York. “As the presenting sponsor of Evolution, we’re not just showing up in the ring; we’re supporting a global community that inspires confidence and self-expression, both in and out of the spotlight."

In addition to the Presenting Partner designation at Evolution, Maybelline will receive center mat ring branding, a custom vignette and social media integrations. The partnership and activation strategy were developed in collaboration with Beauty Co-Lab, L’Oréal’s media agency of record.

"Maybelline continues to lead the way by moving at the speed of culture — connecting beauty with entertainment in bold, inclusive, and unexpected ways,” said Delphine Hernoux, CEO, Beauty Co-Lab. “At Beauty Co-Lab, we’re proud to have helped shape this milestone partnership with WWE, which reflects the kind of innovative thinking that keeps the brand ahead of the curve."

Nick Khan Says He And Triple H Make Mistakes In Business But Learn From Them

In an interview with Stephanie McMahon for What’s Your Story (via Fightful), Nick Khan discussed the learning process for himself and Triple H as they continue to make mistakes in business.

He said: “Same with business, and if you make a mistake in the decision, that’s okay too. Fix it. No issue. Paul (Levesque) and I, Triple H and I, we make mistakes in business every day. The good thing is we have one another, where we can say, ‘I think I did this. What do you think?’ ‘Ah, I don’t think that was the move. Maybe we could think of it the other way.’ ‘Okay, let’s try that,’ and then to the executive committee meeting — the executive committee part of me, the senior leadership team will say, ‘Hey, this got messed up. We’re gonna pivot,’ we’re gonna do X, Y and Z instead and everyone rolls in the same direction.”

Nick Khan has served as WWE’s President since 2023, following the company’s merger with UFC to form TKO Group Holdings. In this role, he has overseen significant strategic initiatives, including the negotiation of a landmark $5 billion, 10-year deal with Netflix to stream Monday Night Raw, marking WWE’s first major move into live streaming. Additionally, WWE has expanded its presence on streaming platforms, with SmackDown returning to USA Network in October 2024 under a new agreement. Khan has also been instrumental in the development of behind-the-scenes content, such as a new docuseries on Netflix, WWE: Unreal, aimed at providing fans with deeper insights into WWE’s operations. His leadership continues to shape WWE’s evolution in the evolving media landscape.

TKO COO Mark Shapiro: Triple H Is Amazing On Creative Storylines

Triple H has been running WWE creative for the better part of three years as the company sets a new gate record seemingly every month.

In January, WWE Raw premiered on Netflix, marking a new era for the company as the flagship program was off cable TV for the first time ever.

Speaking at the JP Morgan Annual Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, TKO COO Mark Shapiro highlighted Triple H and Netflix are growth factors for WWE.

"There are two x-factors when you look at WWE. Netflix, this is the greatest marketing platform you could ever ask for. Their pre-roll is one of the strongest tools. If you're clicking on that icon, you're getting a trailer. The (other) x-factor is the creative power we have behind the brand. Paul Levesque [Triple H] lives and breathes; his whole life has been spent in WWE. He's amazing on the creative storylines. Just when you think you know where he's going, he turns left, like the heel John Cena became and then the champion," said Shapiro. Cena turned heel at WWE Elimination Chamber and won the Undisputed WWE Title from Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 41.

Elsewhere during the conference, Shapiro commented on WWE: Unreal. You can find his full comments by clicking here.

credit JP Morgan Annual Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference Fightful for the transcription.

WWE & UFC Parent TKO Beats Q1 Forecasts And Ups Full-Year Guidance

TKO Group Holdings, parent of the WWE and UFC, said “strength and momentum” at both subsidiaries powered first-quarter financial results.

Revenue handily exceeded Wall Street forecasts, reaching $1.27 billion, while earnings per share hit 69 cents, also ahead of estimates. The profit figure compared with a loss of $1.26 per diluted share in the year-ago quarter.

The company also raised its full-year guidance for revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Excluding the impact of recently acquired businesses IMG, On Location and PBR, the company increased its targets for revenue to $3.005 billion to $3.075 billion, from $2.93 billion to $3 billion. It boosted adjusted EBITDA targets to $1.39 billion to $1.43 billion, from $1.35 billion to $1.39 billion.

WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium Shatters All-Time Gate, Viewership, Merchandise, Sponsorship & Social Records

WWE, part of TKO Group Holdings, today announced that WrestleMania 41, which emanated from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, became the most-successful and highest-grossing event in company history.

Highlights include:

GATE: WrestleMania 41 generated the largest gate for any event in WWE history. The Premium Live Event drew 124,693 fans across two nights at Allegiant Stadium.

VIEWERSHIP: WrestleMania 41 was the most-viewed WrestleMania of all time, up 114 percent from the record set last year at WrestleMania XL.

MERCHANDISE: In partnership with Fanatics, merchandise sales onsite were up more than 45 percent versus the previous all-time event record set by WrestleMania XL in 2024, making WrestleMania 41 the highest-grossing event of all-time. Additionally, ecommerce sales were up 86 percent versus last year’s record.

SPONSORSHIP: WrestleMania 41 featured a record 28 total partners and set an all-time event record for revenue.

ON LOCATION: On Location, the exclusive hospitality experiences partner for WWE, saw a 75 percent increase in hospitality sales and packages.

WWE WORLD: WWE World at WrestleMania 41, the five-day interactive fan experience in partnership with Fanatics Events, became the most-attended WWE fan convention of all time with more than 50,000 attendees – a 21 percent increase over last year’s event surrounding WrestleMania XL.

SOCIAL: WrestleMania 41 became the most socially viewed WWE event of all-time, generating 1.1 billion social views throughout the weekend. Additionally, WWE's YouTube channel saw its most-viewed day ever on WrestleMania Sunday.

The record-breaking event was highlighted by John Cena defeating Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE Championship, Seth Rollins winning the Triple Threat Match featuring Roman Reigns and CM Punk, IYO SKY retaining the Women’s World Championship, the return of Becky Lynch and more.

TKO Announces Takeover Mega-Event Featuring WWE, UFC & More

While WWE is one of its centerpieces, TKO Group Holdings has its hands in a lot of pots, including UFC and Professional Bull Riders. So far, in TKO's short history, the three entities haven't crossed paths at the same time, even though there has been some synergy between WWE and UFC. That will change come April, when TKO looks for all three of its properties to be the apple of Kansas City, Missouri's eye.

In a press release, TKO announced that they would be holding three events at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center between April 24 and April 28. The festivities will kick off with the PBR, followed by a UFC Fight Night, and concluding with "WWE Raw." The shows are a result of an agreement between TKO and the Kansas City Sports Commission.

"Kansas City has collectively hosted dozens of UFC, WWE, and PBR events over the years, and it has become a top destination for each of these respective promotions," TKO EVP of Event Development and Operations Peter Dropick said in a statement. "This is a unique opportunity to showcase these three premier properties in one city at the same time for the benefit of fans and visitors to the area. We thank the Kansas City Sports Commission and the management at T-Mobile Center for making this possible."

On WWE's end, TKO's stay in Kansas City will come at a unique time for the promotion, serving as the second "Raw" to take place following WrestleMania 41 on April 19 and 20. As a result, the Kansas City "Raw" could serve as an important indicator of the red brand's direction throughout 2025.

TKO and Saudi Arabia Launch New Boxing League Led by Nick Khan, Dana White, and Turki Alakshikh

TKO is teaming up with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to create a new boxing league.

During the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed that WWE President Nick Khan, who also serves on the TKO Board of Directors, will be involved in the initiative.

The boxing league will reportedly be led by UFC President Dana White and Turki Alakshikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.

Meltzer commented, “Nick Khan is supposed to be a major part of that as well. A lot of the rival promoters had a meeting in Las Vegas about how they’re going to combat this. Almost sounded like the famous meetings that the Einhorn’s arranged when Vince started his expansion…and they all got together, all the rival promoters got together and ‘We’re going to put a united front against him,’ which didn’t last very long at all, of course. But now the boxing promoters know they’ve got a real threat. And in their minds, it’s Nick Khan, Dana White, and Turki Alakshikh as the three people running this new boxing venture.”

Paul Levesque To Headline WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025

Insider reports that WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque, aka Triple H, will headline the 2025 WWE Hall of Fame class. Despite his position of being in charge of the promotion, Levesque was said to be caught off guard by the decision, which was revealed to him today in a meeting by his wife, Stephanie McMahon, and fellow Hall of Famers Undertaker and Shawn Michaels.

Levesque has largely sat atop the WWE pyramid since the initial retirement of his father-in-law, Vince McMahon, in 2022, and has been credited for revitalizing WWE under his direction. However, his Hall of Fame induction has less to do with his executive career and more with his in-ring accolades. 

Levesque first gained notoriety in WCW from 1993 to 1994, before joining WWE and assuming his Triple H moniker. When he ended his in-ring career in 2022, he had wracked up 14 World Title reigns, as well as runs with the WWE Intercontinental, European, and Tag Team Championships. He also won the 1997 King of the Ring, the 2002 and 2016 Royal Rumbles, and along with Michaels was a founding member of the popular stable, D-Generation X.

WWE & TNA Wrestling announce multi-year partnership

WWE part of TKO Group Holdings and TNA Wrestling, one of the world’s top wrestling brands and a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, today announced a multi-year partnership aimed at creating unprecedented crossover opportunities within WWE and TNA programming for NXT Superstars and TNA Wrestling Stars.

The agreement will enable talent to garner additional exposure across key WWE and TNA programming, including weekly flagship shows such as NXT – which airs live on The CW – and TNA iMPACT!, select WWE Premium Live Events and TNA pay-per-views, in turn bolstering their in-ring development with exposure to world-class talent and coaching.

“This historic relationship demonstrates that collaboration and competition do not have to be mutually exclusive,” said Ariel Shnerer, Senior Vice President of Content & Distribution for TNA Wrestling and Anthem Sports & Entertainment. “Our partnership allows the TNA Wrestling brand and its incredible athletes to reach a significantly wider audience, while giving WWE and NXT stars an opportunity to cross the line and gain valuable experience, as they join forces with one of the most talented rosters in professional wrestling today. The response to our collaboration over the past year has been tremendous and both companies have benefited, but the fans have reaped the greatest rewards from this talent crossover and working relationship.”

“We look forward to growing and evolving our partnership with TNA Wrestling and its outstanding group of athletes by creating new opportunities to further the development of our talent and to elevate the viewer experience at home,” said WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels.

Former TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry frequently appeared on NXT programming in 2024, highlighted by an NXT Championship match featuring Hendry and Ethan Page at No Mercy, and an NXT Women’s Championship match featuring Grace and Roxanne Perez at Battleground.

Many NXT Superstars also crossed the line into TNA Wrestling, including Wes Lee’s short-lived reunion with The Rascalz, Charlie Dempsey and the No Quarter Catch Crew, Riley Osbourne, Dante Chen, Gallus, Arianna Grace, Tatum Paxley, Izzi Dame, Wendy Choo, Brinley Reece and more.

TNA iMPACT! airs on AXS TV and TNA+ in the U.S., in addition to being distributed internationally on TNA+ and other leading broadcast platforms, including Sportsnet 360 across Canada.

In November 2023, WWE and The CW announced a five-year agreement to bring NXT to broadcast television for the first time in its 13-year history.

WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ Netflix Debut Draws 4.9 Million Views

The first episode of WWE‘s “Monday Night Raw” to stream live on Netflix pulled in 4.9 million views globally.

That is according to Live+1 data provided by Netflix, with a view defined as total hours viewed for the program divided by its runtime. The 4.9 million views came from countries like the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Latin America, but did not include 92 countries/territories where Netflix doesn’t yet distribute WWE, including France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.

The Netflix debut of “Raw” was also viewed by 2.6 million households in the U.S. according to VideoAmp, compared to the 1.2 million households “Raw” was averaging in 2024.

It is difficult to make a direct comparison between the Netflix and USA Network viewership for “Raw,” as linear channels measure their viewership differently than Netflix does. For the sake of some comparison, however, the final episode of “Raw” on USA Network averaged approximately 1.596 million viewers across its two-hour runtime, according to Nielsen Live + Same Day data. From the beginning of October through the end of December, “Raw” averaged approximately 1.65 million viewers per week on USA Network.

During the first “Raw” on Netflix, Roman Reigns defeated his cousin Solo Sikoa in a Tribal Combat match for the sacred ula fala and the title of Tribal Chief. Later, Rhea Ripley defeated Liv Morgan to regain the women’s world championship title, Jey Uso defeated Drew McIntyre, and CM Punk won a brutal main event match against Seth Rollins.

The night also saw John Cena kick off his 2025 retirement tour, while Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson opened the show and later appeared alongside Reigns. WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made an appearance toward the end of the show, but was met with a barrage of boos from the crowd.

This is the latest in push by Netflix into live streaming. Previously, the streamer aired a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that drew an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108 million live viewers globally. The event peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, with 38 million concurrent streams in the US. Over Christmas, the NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million viewers on Netflix, while the earlier Chiefs-Steelers bout brought in 24.1 million viewers.

source: variety.com

Why Kevin Nash Says Triple H Is A Better Fit To Run WWE Than The Rock

Recently, former WWE creative writer Vince Russo floated a conspiracy theory suggesting TKO board director Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson might replace Paul "Triple H" Levesque with his longtime collaborator Brian Gewirtz. While there doesn't appear to be any truth to this, WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash addressed the possibility on "Kliq This." Nash felt fairly confident that Levesque wouldn't be going anywhere, and used a recent social media clip as proof he's better suited to run WWE's creative than perhaps anyone else. 

"They brought back [Shinsuke Nakamura] and they were working out his entrance," Nash began. "It was on Instagram. And they showed Paul walking the production people through what he wanted. 'I want it lit not so much on the top, but underneath.' And he walked them through this entire process of what he saw personally for this guy's entrance. And I was just like...that's what makes the difference between good and great: Detail. And he's dialing this f***in' in, and I'm saying to myself, Dwayne doesn't have the time for that."

Nash compared the respect WWE talent has for Levesque to the respect players had for legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, noting that both inspire their "players" to perform at their best.  

"It's the Triple H era because...people will run through f***ing walls for him," Nash said. "He gets it. And that's the intangible that Brian Gewirtz or Dwayne, they're not going to have."

At one time, Brian Gewirtz was high on the food chain within WWE's creative team, and was known as the architect behind many of The Rock's promos. Having formed a strong working relationship together, The Rock eventually lured Gewirtz away from wrestling to his Seven Bucks Productions entertainment company. 

Ari Emanuel Praises Triple H & Dana White’s Work With WWE & UFC, Talks Netflix/WWE Deal

Ari Emanuel is very happy with how Triple H and Dana White are doing with WWE and the UFC, respectively. Emanuel is the CEO of TKO, the parent company of both WWE and UFC, and he recently spoke on Bloomberg about the success of both companies, WWE’s deal with Netflix and more. You can see highlights below (courtesy of Wrestling Inc):

On the performance of the two companies: “I don’t think it’s Fight Club. I remember watching WWE — WWF, actually — when I was young. Paul [Levesque] has done an amazing job with the WWE, with ‘Raw,’ ‘SmackDown,’ PLEs, ‘NXT.’ And UFC is a sport that Dana [White] created over 30 years ago. Didn’t exist. [It was] His vision. You don’t have to explain the rules of the UFC to anybody in the world.”

On Triple H taking over WWE from Vince McMahon: “When you have guys that are visionaries, take whatever comes through on the cases with Vince McMahon who is no longer with the company, and now Paul, Triple H, is running that. They understand, kind of, the heartbeat. The skills I’ve maybe learned in the talent agency side have helped, but now we’re partners. So, now, that’s how I look at it. You just have to let the talent — and those guys are talent — do what they do and support them with all that they need.”

On WWE’s deal with Netflix: “You can see that Netflix wants to be in the live sports business. I think they [WWE] will perform very well for them. There’s a huge chunk of the audience that are WWE fans that are not right now, based on our research, Netflix subscribers. If they capture a portion of those, it’s a huge win for them and a huge win for us.”

On the potential of UFC moving to Netflix: “Listen, ESPN has been an incredible partner. First quarter we’ll see, that’s where we can start. We would love to be back in ESPN. They have been incredible to us.”

Mark Shapiro Praises Triple H, Nick Khan As ‘Experts In Storytelling’

TKO President Mark Shapiro praised WWE executives Triple H, Nick Khan as among those in the company who are “experts in storytelling” and creating rivalries. Shapiro spoke on the TKO Q3 financial results call and was asked why there haven’t been a lot of challenges with talent leaving the WWE and UFC. He answered by praising the executives in both companies at creating stars and memorable rivalries, noting talent wants to be there.

“The reason why you don’t hear about it a lot, and we say this in all modesty, you don’t hear about it because of the work of Paul Levesque, Dana White, Nick Khan, and Lawrence Epstein,” Shapiro said (per Fightful). “That’s just the fact of the matter. They are experts in storytelling. Period. They are experts in creating rivalries, period. They are experts, like David Stern was, in building and marketing stars. When your platforms, your businesses, your leagues become known for that, talent aspires to be with those leagues. We haven’t had those challenges as of late because, frankly, the talent wants to get to the UFC and WWE level.”

He continued, “We don’t take that for granted. We’re not arrogant about it, and we want to incentivize all of our fighters at UFC and all of our superstars at WWE to put out their best every day and aim for the top of the mountain. We’re prudent about it and we want to keep those costs under control. As long as we do our job of continuing with that storytelling, continuing to build our fanbase, continuing to surround ourselves with the right partners, then talent will gravitate towards the UFC and WWE.”

TKO announced their financial results on Wednesday with revenue of $681.2 million, a net income of $57.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA 1 of $310.0 million.

TKO Details Repayments By Vince McMahon For Misallocated Funds

Former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon resigned from WWE and parent company TKO in January following the filing of a sex trafficking lawsuit against him by Janel Grant, 18 months after his initial resignation in 2022 following reports he had misappropriated company funds to pay NDAs to Grant and others. McMahon has since been reimbursing the money waylaid to WWE — which merged with UFC under TKO in September 2023 — and the company's latest quarterly report indicates he has continued to do so since his resignation.

"Mr. McMahon has agreed to make future payments to certain counterparties personally," the report reads. "As of December 31, 2023, total liabilities of $1.5 million are ... owed by Mr. McMahon to certain counterparties."

It's further noted that as of June 30, 2024, McMahon had made the payments to the relevant parties in full and directly.

"In connection with and/or arising from the investigation conducted by a Special Committee of the former WWE board of directors, Mr. McMahon has agreed to reimburse the Company for additional costs incurred in connection with and/or arising from the same matters," the section concludes. 

McMahon returned to WWE after his initial resignation in January 2023, announcing his intent to secure a sale of the company. That turn of events led to the formation of TKO, with which McMahon continued as Executive Chairman. Grant's lawsuit in January this year alleged gross sexual misconduct and trafficking at the hands of McMahon during her time with the company, which he has continuously and vehemently denied, and saw him resign from his roles with TKO and WWE.